Hosts Mumbai Police with some steady performances made a positive start as they registered a comprehensive 5-wicket victory against Sponsors XI (Jain Irrigation) in the opening Group-C league match of the Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd. sponsored ‘70th Police Invitation Shield Cricket Tournament’, and played at Police Gymkhana ground on Sunday.
Eknath Kerkar
Sponsors XI resuming at their overnight score of 220 for 5 in 53 overs could only add a further 24 runs as their innings came to a close at 242 in 60.1 overs. Yogesh Jagtap (3/71) and Rajesh Tandel (2/54) were the main wicket-takers for the Policemen.
In reply, the Mumbai Police batsmen comfortably negotiated the rival bowling attack to score 244 for the loss of five wickets in 61 overs. Opener Sunil Patil top-scored with a fine knock of 73 and in the company of number three batsman Mayur Sanap (47) put together a 99-run partnership to prop the Police innings. Later the middle order batters Humayun Hirapure (45 not out) and skipper Shrikant Limbole (44 not out) saw the Policemen cruise to victory and bag four points.
Meanwhile, Eknath Kerkar smashed a quick fire 169 runs of 161 balls to steer defending champions Karnatak SA to a facile 6-wicket victory against MCA Colts in a Group-A match at the KSA ground. MCA Colts resuming their innings at 273 for 5, were restricted to 311 for 8 in 70 overs. Pranav Menon was unbeaten on 99 while half century knocks from Suved Parkar (81) and Atif Shaikh (52) helped the MCA youngsters post quite a stiff target. Vignesh Solanki was the pick of the Karnatak bowlers and returned with figures of 6/96.
However, with Kerkar leading the fight the Karnatak batsmen achieved the target with plenty to spare. Kerkar fired on all cylinders and struck six towering sixes and 13 boundaries during his 202 minutes sojourn in the middle. Playing supporting roles were Vidhyadhar Kamath (59 not out) and Sagar Chabria (53).
Payyade Sports Club had a successful first round defeating New Hind Sporting Club by 104 runs in another Group-A match,
Brief scores:
Group – A: MCA Colts: 311 /8 in 70 overs – overnight 273/5 — (Pranav Menon 99*, Suved Parkar 81, Atif Shaikh 52; Vignesh Solanki 6/96) lost to Karnatak Sporting Association: 315/4 in 60.5 overs (Eknath Kerkar 169 (Min. 202, Balls-161, 13×4, 6×6), Vidhyadhar Kamath 59*, Sagar Chabria 53). Result: Karnatak SA won by 6 wickets.
Payyade Sports Club: 307 all out in 66.4 overs – overnight 240/5 in 52 overs – (Harsh Tank 186 (Min. 283, Balls-174, 15×4, 7×6), Kalpesh Sawant 30; Parikshit Valsangkar 4/80) beat New Hind Sporting Club: 203 all out in 56.3 overs (Bhavin Thakkar 81*; Kalpesh Sawant 4/26, Rohan Raje 3/28). Result: Payyade Sports Club won by 104 runs.
Group-B: MIG Cricket Club: 112 all out in 32.4 overs (Sahil Madgaonkar 39, Sidharth Chitnis 36; Prashant Bhoir 5/29, Pravin Tambe 3/22) lost to Dr. D.Y. Patil SA: 114/5 in 27.3 overs – overnight 61/4 in17 overs — (Shashank Singh 36*; Vinit Dhulap 3/22). Result: Dr. D.Y. Patil won by 5 wickets.
Islam Gymkhana: 264/7 in 70 overs – overnight 207/6 in 62 overs – (Musheer Khan 78, Jay Dave 78, Prem Salvi 51*) lost to P. J. Hindu Gymkhana: 269/3 in 43 overs (Pratik Desai 85, Sujit Haravi 63*, Nishadh Gabhawala 63, Sachin Wagh 44*). Result: Hindu Gymkhana won by 7 wickets.
Group-C: Sponsors XI (Jain Irrigation) : 242/9 in 60.1 overs – overnight 220/5 in 53 overs (Azhar Ansari 69, Shrideep Mangela 68, Shashank Attarde 32; Yogesh Jagtap 3/71) lost to Mumbai Police: 244/5 in 61 overs (Sunil Patil 73, Mayur Sanap 47, Humayun Hirapure 45*, Shrikant Limbole 44*). Result: Mumbai Police won by 5 wickets.
Sind Sports Club: 315/9 in 70 overs — 255/6 in 58 overs – (Alpesh Ramjani 104 (Min. 210, Balls-149, 6 x 4, 1 x6), Aditya Dhumal 93, Akhil Rajput 35; Sidharth Raut 4/ 72) beat Dadar Union Sporting Club:185 all out in 56.2 overs (Rohit Rane 39, Sidharth Raut 39; Aditya Dhumal 4/30). Result: Sind Sports Club won by 130 runs.
Group-D: Parsee Gymkhana: 139 all out in 35 overs (Ajinkya Patil 51; Kumar Boresa 4/10, Somsing Rawal 3/36) lost to Bombay Gymkhana: 170/7 (including 28 penalty runs) in 43.2 overs – overnight 51/2 in 15 overs – (Abhishek Srivastav 58, Ankit Shastri 35; Balwinder Singh Sandhu 4/32). Result: Bombay Gymkhana won by 3 wickets.
Cricket Club of India: 51 all out in 17.5 overs (Vinit Indulkar 17; Badre Alam 7/22, Sagar Trivedi 3/18) lost to Parkophene Cricketers 55/1 in 8.5 overs (Salman Ahmad 31*), at CCI ground. Result- Parkophene Cricketers won by 9 wickets.